Tyranny of Dragons

Session 12

Exploring the rest of Castle Naerytar

7

MAY/15

The gargoyles crashed through the glass roof panes and literally fell onto the party, or tried to. Their stony hides made taking them out difficult but the party prevailed though all of them took significant wounds. Given a bit of a short rest they tried to operate the farseer of Illusk, unfortunately it was too complicated to use without more careful study. They did manage not to break it in the attempt. Searching more of the tower they were able to more thoroughly examine the library Dralmorrer had been collecting from the raided loot during his time stationed here. They also broke into his personal strongbox of treasure which thankfully contained more portable loot than they’d found with Spattergoo.
With the lizardfolk by this time chasing the few living bullywugs into the swamp the castle was starting to empty out and quiet down. They decided to search the northwest tower which quickly proved to be trash pit. They did spy a chest on the second floor but the stairs up had largely rotted away. Undeterred Yumi used her winged boots to carry Crosby up towards the second floor as Callahorn misty stepped up to that ledge. While crossing the debris and muck they weren’t all that surprised when an otyugh they’d failed to spot attacked with it’s tentacles. No one was grappled for long but it did manage a few good tentacle slams before it succumbed to the groups combined attacks. The chest contained nearly 2,000 copper coins and little more than 50 silver with a pair of gold earrings worth 10 gp for the metal, but so garish that none of them wanted to wear them.
Moving back out to the inner courtyard they finally reached the south wall rooms claimed by the cultists. They were entirely abandoned, including the great hall that had been converted largely to a makeshift carpentry shop. It was obvious this is where the plunder was put into newly made chests and boxes for easier transport. Though much of the loot pile was hastily removed, likely just minutes after the lizardfolk started gleefully cutting bullywugs up for swamp bait, the party was happy to find a large pile of abandoned treasure in one corner, most of it small enough to carry with them. They were able to rescue a dwarf named Tham Tharmzid and his human helpers from their forced servitude in the kitchen. They also found a magical dagger of venom in a shrine to Tiamat in the converted chapel. On the third floor they found Rezmir’s chambers, but she was not in them. They were opulently decorated but appeared largely unused. On her desk they managed to find the keyword to activate the teleportation circle in the caverns below, “Draezir”. In her sleeping chambers they found a 2’ tall black dragon statuette made form actual black dragon scales and claws, with ruby eyes and diamond teeth perched atop an actual treasure heap of gold and gems. If handled carefully and delivered intact to the right collector they estimated its worth at around 4,800 gp. Fortunately they had moved it out of the room before opening one of her wardrobes and setting off the acid trap inside. They added that to the tally of grievances against Rezmir as they moved into the caverns below the castle.
The few remaining bullywugs they found down below were surprised as they hadn’t heard any of the commotion above ground. The giant frogs littering the caves and underground lake quickly left them alone after the first half dozen were cut down within seconds. They found a crane used to move the treasure chests and boxes down a ledge before being transported by the teleportation circle in the adjoining cavern. Down another passageway they found Spattergoo’s shrine to…confusion. Yumi & Crosby were able to identify the cave paintings and wall markings as pieces and elements of symbology to a myriad of different religions including Ghaunadaur (god of slimes) and Shar (goddess of night and void). Beyond that room was what could only be Spattergoo’s sanctum as there was only one mud-covered chair and table with a box of candles and a wooden chest. Though it was trapped it was simply disabled and inside they found no typical treasure. In the chest and the trap they recovered multiple pots of a frog-based poison and the recipe for making more that causes any creature affected to succumb to the hallucination that all other creatures near them have been transformed into nightmarish, frog-like monstrosities. (DC 11 + # of pots used, each turn roll a die, odd: flee to underwater, even:attack nearest creature, lasts 10 minutes) With the right alchemist, proper ingredients and a decent lab it’s likely this concoction could be distilled into something much more potent. They made their way back up to the observatory room to regroup, determine their next move, and rest.